The present invention relates to a gutter system for collecting rain and, incidentally, debris from trees and emptying any debris not normally washed out of a downspout, and in particular, to a gutter and gutter emptying system.
It is well known that gutters collect water, rain or snow, and dispense it through a downspout. It is also known to pivot or rotate the gutter to empty any debris from trees, such as leaves and twigs. The patented art clearly exhibited several systems for emptying debris. One popular system includes a support mounted to a fascia board and pivotally connected to the bottom front edge of a gutter to pivot about the front edge, U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,681 to Fave, for example. Another popular system also provides a pivotal support, however the gutter pivots about the bottom back edge (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,015 Coyne). There is also a body of art where a gutter is rotatably mounted on a shaft, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,151 to Ward.
The prior art all use some type of pivoting systems, everything from a pulley and chain to a crank and pitman. These systems may function well, however, they are eyesores with chains, pulleys, and levers either exposed or in some cumbersome housing. The present invention provides a low profile gutter tilting system which has few moving parts, a low noise level and no unsightly housing or exposed parts.